Potent Pitches and Brilliant Blurbs

Wowza! Your book is done. Congratulations. You’re ready to put your fabulous story out there into the publishing world. One of the best ways to get your work in front of agents and editors, is through pitching and querying.

But to pitch and query you need to distill your amazing book down to a few intriguing paragraphs or lines or Twitter for pitches, even just words.

In this intensive, hands-on, two week class, you’ll learn the basics of a hook-an-agent/editor pitch/blurb.

This intensive, hands-on, two week class offers you the most important opportunity: feedback. We will revise, fine-tune, and re-work your pitches and blurbs, all while working to maintain emotion and your voice in a hooky, can’t-wait-to-read pitch/blurb.

Yes, it’s possible. You can do it! Distill your story to a pitch/blurb that will hook agents and editors and make them want to read more.

What You Will Learn

how to hook an agent
how to pitch to an editor
the finer points of creating a short pitch
techniques for writing a long pitch
how to write a back cover blurb
dos and don't for pitches and blurbs

Who Should Take This Course

authors getting ready for pitch season
authors writing query letters
those looking to self-publish that are in need of a stellar back cover blurb

Course Overview

Lesson one: creating a short pitch

Learn what a pitch is and is not
Learn about the various kinds of pitches
Explore the various pitch templates available
What is a logline?
Create your own short pitch
Receive experienced feedback on your pitch
A chance to revise and submit for more feedback

Lesson two: comps can be fun

Learn the whys of having comparison titles in your pitch
Learn where to find comparison titles
Analyze several examples of comparison titles
- Have fun writing your comparison titles
- Receive experienced feedback on your comps and helpful tips

Lesson three: composing a longer pitch

Learn how to compose a longer pitch
Learn about the plot catalyst and how to add it to your pitch
Learn from analyzing several examples of the longer pitch
Create your longer pitch
Receive experienced feedback to improve your pitch

Lesson four: more on writing a longer pitch

Learn how to grow your longer pitch
Learn how to add your setting
Learn how to add your antagonist
Learn how to highlight the uniqueness of your story
Create your own even longer pitch
Receive experience feedback and always the chance to revise

Lesson five: revising and refining your pitch

Learn the importance of revising and refining your pitch
Analyze several examples
Another chance to submit and receive feedback on your pitches

Lesson six: creating your brilliant blurb

Learn the difference between the various types of blurbs
Learn the key elements to a brilliant blurb
Learn from various examples of brilliant blurbs
Create and craft your own brilliant blurb
Receive experienced feedback on your blurb

Lesson seven: researching blurbs

Learn the importance of researching blurbs and what you can learn
Learn several places where to find blurbs for research
Another chance to revise and resubmit your blurb for feedback

Lesson eight: learning from a bad blurb

Yes, you can learn from a bad blurb
Learn from example
Learn how to analyze a blurb
Another chance to revise and resubmit your blurb

Lesson nine: dos and don’t for pitches and blurbs

Learn the dos for potent pitches
Learn the don’ts for pitches
Learn the do’s for brilliant blurbs
Learn the don’ts for blurbs
And another chance for more feedback on your pitch and blurb

Teacher

Suzanne Purvis is a transplanted Canadian living in the Deep South, where she traded “eh” for “y’all.” An author of long, short, and flash fiction for both children and adults, she has won several awards including those sponsored by the University of Toronto, RWA, Bethlehem Writer’s Roundtable, and Women Who Write. You can find her work in print anthologies, magazines, ezines, and ebooks.

Visit her at www.suzannepurvis.com , www.suzannepurvis.blogspot.com, Facebook, Amazon Author’s Central.

Reviews

Pitching to Perfection

February 18, 2020

Drilling your story into a one-sentence pitch is a skill. A skill your agent and publisher will come to depend on and you will use throughout your writing career. A skill needed to make your query letter catch the eye of an agent, make your synopsis flow, and your book jacket enticing. Do your writing career a favor--don't pass up this class. This is a skillset Suzanne teaches with perfect pitch, humor, and encouragement.

Veronica Mixon